Isaiah Rider

WARRIORS: Golden State waived C DJ Mbenga and recalled C Kosta Perovic from its minor league affiliate. MAVERICKS: Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier missed the game against the Timberwolves with injuries. Stackhouse missed his second straight game with a sprained right thumb and Dampier was out with a left knee injury. ARRESTED: Former NBA player Isaiah Rider was in custody on outstanding arrest warrants after Berkeley, Calif., police responded to a report of a disturbance between a taxi driver and Rider.

WARRIORS: Golden State waived C DJ Mbenga and recalled C Kosta Perovic from its minor league affiliate. MAVERICKS: Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier missed the game against the Timberwolves with injuries. Stackhouse missed his second straight game with a sprained right thumb and Dampier was out with a left knee injury. ARRESTED: Former NBA player Isaiah Rider was in custody on outstanding arrest warrants after Berkeley, Calif., police responded to a report of a disturbance between a taxi driver and Rider.

Isaiah Rider, Lakers Yes, the deal only is for the veteran's minimum. But this isn't about money. What if Rider goes off the deep end late in the season? Will it be too late then to recover from this riskiest of propositions? Howard Eisley, Mavericks A seven-year commitment is a lot for a player who has never been anything more than a career backup. What if that's all Eisley turns out to be? Aaron Williams, Nets Last season the Nets went for a larger deal with Jamie Feick than some thought prudent.

A Pat Riley-coached team may get outscored, but rarely is it outhustled -- until now. Coming off Saturday's 100-96 overtime loss to Cleveland (4-10) in which the Heat was outscored 20-4 on second-chance opportunities, including two critical possessions in the final 1:02, Riley was in no mood to hand out A's for effort. "We have a serious effort problem, and I don't think the players want to buy into that right now," Riley said after Monday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. "We're getting beat on the boards, and we're bigger than Cleveland.

It turns out Losing Isaiah is no longer just a movie featuring Halle Berry. It also has become the latest scene in the Heat's melodrama of this rebuilding offseason. All summer it was widely speculated that Isaiah Rider, the troublesome former Atlanta Hawks guard, was headed to the Heat with the hope that coach Pat Riley would rebuild Rider's damaged reputation. However, Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Riley to the punch Friday. The Lakers, who reportedly convinced Rider to sign for the veteran minimum of $798,500, had two things to offer that the Heat didn't -- a team coming off a championship season and a possible starting spot.

A player renowned for his timing issues -- ranging from missing team flights to skipping practices to being late for games -- said Monday that it was the Heat's lack of timing that prevented him from signing as a free agent in the offseason. Isaiah Rider, the talented but troubled guard whose Lakers play tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena, said he had been "an hour from signing" with the Heat in the offseason. Rider said had the Heat not waited to up its offer from the veteran's minimum of $770,000 to something closer to the $2.25 million mid-level exception, he today would be playing in a system in far greater need of his scoring skills.

The Heat doesn't have much time to study its mistakes against the Atlanta Hawks. But it has plenty to review before tonight's rematch at Miami Arena. Downright feeble at times, the Heat fell 113-106 Tuesday night to the Hawks at half-empty Philips Arena. "I didn't like the tone of the game pretty much right from the beginning," coach Pat Riley said. "We got our heads handed to us." If it wasn't Alonzo Mourning setting lazy screens and being whistled for offensive fouls, it was Voshon Lenard getting lost in screens while chasing Jason Terry.

Heat coach Pat Riley said Tuesday night he was "guardedly optimistic" about the results of the latest round of medical tests on center Alonzo Mourning. Mourning missed his third consecutive game in the wake of what had been declining lab tests as he continues his battle with kidney disease. Speaking before the Heat faced the Minnesota Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena, Riley said of Mourning's chances of a quick return, "I'm feeling good, but I think Zo's the one that's going to determine that.

Is it worth picking up a player who might help in the quest to be top seed in the Eastern Conference if he can't be available in the playoffs? It's the question Friday night's release of Isaiah Rider raised, and Heat coach Pat Riley didn't completely close the door on the possibility of signing the former Atlanta Hawks guard. "I really don't know, because he's not going to be eligible for the playoffs," Riley said Saturday. "The fact that he's a free agent at the end of the season, it's like bringing in a guy in for the third quarter and then you're never going to play him again.

Even with Heat executives Pat Riley and Randy Pfund on weekend vacations, the talk of offseason moves began to simmer Saturday -- the official day teams can begin talking with the best free agent class in recent history. A spokesperson for sports agent Arm Tellem confirmed that there has been some communication between himself and the Heat regarding Isaiah Rider, the talented but often in trouble shooting guard who led the Atlanta Hawks in scoring before being released in March. The spokesperson would not confirm reports speculating that Rider will be in South Florida next week to talk to Riley about his past, and the possibility of agreeing to sign with the Heat for its $2.25 million exemption.

Heat coach Pat Riley said Tuesday night he was "guardedly optimistic" about the results of the latest round of medical tests on center Alonzo Mourning. Mourning missed his third consecutive game in the wake of what had been declining lab tests as he continues his battle with kidney disease. Speaking before the Heat faced the Minnesota Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena, Riley said of Mourning's chances of a quick return, "I'm feeling good, but I think Zo's the one that's going to determine that.

The jersey reads "Nuggets" across the chest, but apparently that is only because "knuckleheads" would have been too snug a fit. Just when you thought the circus in Denver couldn't get any worse than what the Heat experienced during last season's visit, Dan Issel's crew has put together an encore. To refresh: The Heat arrived in Denver last December to learn the Nuggets had boycotted practice the day before the teams were to meet. The protest over Issel's in-your-face approach reached the point where there was concern about a potential forfeit.

The NBA does not offer a Comeback Player of the Year award, instead going with one for the Most Improved Player. But in terms of comebacks, no player in these NBA Finals can come close to matching the climb of 76ers guard Rodney Buford. A year ago, on the same day he helped the Heat close out its first-round playoff sweep of the Pistons, Buford was arrested in Miami Beach on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession, his third marijuana-related incident in a year. He was told by coach Pat Riley to remain home for the balance of the playoffs, then was banished in the offseason to Charlotte.

A player renowned for his timing issues -- ranging from missing team flights to skipping practices to being late for games -- said Monday that it was the Heat's lack of timing that prevented him from signing as a free agent in the offseason. Isaiah Rider, the talented but troubled guard whose Lakers play tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena, said he had been "an hour from signing" with the Heat in the offseason. Rider said had the Heat not waited to up its offer from the veteran's minimum of $770,000 to something closer to the $2.25 million mid-level exception, he today would be playing in a system in far greater need of his scoring skills.

Isaiah Rider, Lakers Yes, the deal only is for the veteran's minimum. But this isn't about money. What if Rider goes off the deep end late in the season? Will it be too late then to recover from this riskiest of propositions? Howard Eisley, Mavericks A seven-year commitment is a lot for a player who has never been anything more than a career backup. What if that's all Eisley turns out to be? Aaron Williams, Nets Last season the Nets went for a larger deal with Jamie Feick than some thought prudent.

It turns out Losing Isaiah is no longer just a movie featuring Halle Berry. It also has become the latest scene in the Heat's melodrama of this rebuilding offseason. All summer it was widely speculated that Isaiah Rider, the troublesome former Atlanta Hawks guard, was headed to the Heat with the hope that coach Pat Riley would rebuild Rider's damaged reputation. However, Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Riley to the punch Friday. The Lakers, who reportedly convinced Rider to sign for the veteran minimum of $798,500, had two things to offer that the Heat didn't -- a team coming off a championship season and a possible starting spot.

Let's not mince words: The first phone call is to Isaiah Rider. The first question is if he's grown up. The first visit is to see whether he is ready to be part of a team again in his career, how he sees himself fitting back into basketball society and what kind of contract he wants. The Heat has to make a change. Pat Riley must make a move. Three years, three series, three straight losses to New York say the Knicks are the better team no matter how thin that margin is, no matter how many Heat players say otherwise, no matter how much blame is thrown at the refs.

This is not the case of a team that needed to retool, reload or rebuild. Not after winning 35 games in a 50-game season, taking the Pacific Division title over the much-hyped Los Angeles Lakers and advancing to the Western Conference finals. But when the owner is one of the richest men in America, and when other teams are practically begging to unload some of the prime talent in the NBA, what else is a franchise to do? So, the team that many argued last season had everything welcomes Scottie Pippen, Steve Smith and Detlef Schrempf.

Even with Heat executives Pat Riley and Randy Pfund on weekend vacations, the talk of offseason moves began to simmer Saturday -- the official day teams can begin talking with the best free agent class in recent history. A spokesperson for sports agent Arm Tellem confirmed that there has been some communication between himself and the Heat regarding Isaiah Rider, the talented but often in trouble shooting guard who led the Atlanta Hawks in scoring before being released in March. The spokesperson would not confirm reports speculating that Rider will be in South Florida next week to talk to Riley about his past, and the possibility of agreeing to sign with the Heat for its $2.25 million exemption.

Let's not mince words: The first phone call is to Isaiah Rider. The first question is if he's grown up. The first visit is to see whether he is ready to be part of a team again in his career, how he sees himself fitting back into basketball society and what kind of contract he wants. The Heat has to make a change. Pat Riley must make a move. Three years, three series, three straight losses to New York say the Knicks are the better team no matter how thin that margin is, no matter how many Heat players say otherwise, no matter how much blame is thrown at the refs.